Ministering to Judas

For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.  [2 Corinthians 7:10]

Consider Judas Iscariot, no one's favorite. Even Jesus, who had called Judas to be an apostle, condemned him (Matt 26:24). Although we recognize that Judas was playing a role in working out God's eternal purposes (Acts 4:27-28), let's consider how Judas the man was treated by the chief priests and elders, the church leaders of his day.

After Judas betrayed Jesus, he experienced remorse (Matt 27:3), and tried to undo his sinful action by returning the money the religious leaders paid him to betray Jesus. Their response was, in essence, "So what? Your guilt is your own problem, not ours." Finding no forgiveness, Judas went out and hanged himself.

Remorse is starkly defined by Webster as "a gnawing distress arising from a sense of guilt for past wrongs." Remorse is not repentance; rather, it is the sorrow of the world that leads to death (2 Cor 7:10). But just as the apostle Paul's letter to the Corinthians produced in them godly sorrow that led to repentance, could not godly counsel also have led Judas to true repentance? God only knows.

I do not intend to question God's sovereignty, either in general or in the specific case of Judas. I do want to use the example of Judas to lead us to consider the attitude of today's Church in dealing with open sin of the types that people despise. A good modern example is the practice of homosexuality.

Hard hearts today would impel some to withdraw their churches' welcome mats, in the event that a homosexual were to appear at their door, which is unlikely because such churches' reputations usually precede them. Many Christians would rightly condemn such an attitude, but their own welcome mat might truthfully say, "Homosexuals are welcome here, but we require up front a commitment to leave the lifestyle, and once here, they must not fall again." Was this the attitude of Jesus, who "ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners"? Hardly. In fact, prior to being welcomed into the fellowship of believers, how would a prospective Christian even be aware of his need for repentance?

If the Lord Jesus walked among us as a man today, how would He deal with despised sinners, of which homosexuals are but one example? In His own words, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." (Mark 2:17) His words thunder down through the ages to convict us of pride and a lack of compassion; and to call us to a ministry of reconciling the lost with the One Who died in their place.

How should the Church, and its individual members, put this principle into practice? The answer is embodied in four concepts, aptly fitting the acronym HOME: Humility, Outreach, Ministry, and Exhortation.

HUMILITY: The Bible warns that "pride goes before destruction." It destroys not only the proud person, but also those around him. Pride kept the Pharisee in Jesus' story (Luke 18:10-14) from salvation. Pride brings about division in churches and in families. Pride causes us to consider the sins of others as somehow more reprehensible than our own.

When Peter boasted that he would follow Jesus to prison and to death, Jesus prayed that Peter's faith would hold, that he would repent and then "strengthen [his] brethren." (Luke 22:32) Repenting of his pride was necessary to enable Peter to minister compassionately to the others.

OUTREACH: While some sinners go looking for help at church, most do not. We must look for them as Jesus did. Where do we find them? They are all around us. And befriending a person first as Jesus did has far better eternal results than throwing a Bible at them. A person who has not yet been born of the spirit cannot understand the things of God, which are spiritually discerned.

MINISTRY: How did Jesus deal with those who were despised and rejected in His day, for example, the lepers? He met them at their point of need--feeding them, comforting them, and treating their diseases. We are all capable of participating in some manner in these types of ministry, sharing the love of the Father with those most in need of love.

EXHORTATION: To cite Webster again, exhortation is "language intended to incite and encourage." We encourage people by giving them hope, both for this world and the next. We incite them to respond to the love of God, receiving the sacrifice of Jesus and the spiritual adoption into God's family. We teach them the word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit, Who pours out the love of God in our hearts.

In summary: With a humble attitude, we reach out to others, ministering to them at their point of need and encouraging them to seek a personal relationship with God.

Is any sin too great to be forgiven? Only blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which simply means final rejection of the Gospel of Christ, cannot be forgiven. All other sin should be considered as spiritual illness in need of treatment by the Great Physician, using the anointed hands of those in His Church.